Liebesträume
by aphtrashbin
Summary: There had been dance in the moonlight between two rivals who were, once, also lovers; if only they could have this dream forever- 19th century ballroom love and loss featuring PruAus and the Nyotalia characters. Content Warnings: Non-explicit sex, mentions of violence and past character deaths, wars and weapons. One-shot, gift for DesuRaven on tumblr.


"_Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the same horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men._

_Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember, and remember everything they don't want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly." _

\- Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

It's a good idea to listen to my playlist for this fic with it, if you'd like! I hope you enjoy this, the playlist is in my profile! :))

XXXXX

It was a typical thing for her to do this, Annalise reminded herself gently as her maids dressed her in her finery, helping her put on her various layers that were appropriate to this occasion. She held a ball every year, in light of her status as empire alongside her husband (in name, strictly), Hungary.

However, that didn't stop her heart from racing at the thought of _her_. Red and blue eyes, a scornful smile, white hair that was typically messy, but would not be so tonight. Tonight, oh, that mane of long white hair would be up in an elegant hairdo, and her typical military outfit would be forgotten for a ball gown. The thought was…scandalous, not to mention entirely out of her character.

But what her mind was prattling on about was a simple issue. Her current rival and past lover would be attending her ball for the first time since...oh, since the Congress of Vienna's finish? She didn't quite know, but either way, when Annalise had seen the woman's confirmation for attendance, she had been unsure of how to feel. Sure, she had invited the woman, but only out of courtesy, not out of a desire for her to _attend_.

Annalise finished up, clapping away her various maids, before going downstairs, elegant in every movement, her husband coming beside her in his own fine garb, taking her arm carefully. "Hello, my dear. So, she's coming?" He asked, curious.

"Oh please, Hungary, knock off the niceties. We've known each other so long that we may be honest." She whispered hotly. "And yes. Prussia is coming. Earlier than scheduled, so that we may meet our ally, Germany." She tsked. "Damn woman never thought about the added stress of having her come early, did she?"

"Does she think?" Hungary added, catty about their current ally, Prussia, for all she was. "I mean, in all honesty, she couldn't be able to think, not after that series of wars and the creation of a new state, right smack in the middle of Europe."

"I think the problem is not that she doesn't think." Austria remarked, seeing what was her carriage, undoubtedly so, through the window. "Rather, it's that she thinks _too much_."

They had reached the bottom of the stairs, the power couple arm and arm while servants went to assist the "Lady Beilschmidt" out of her carriage, which was quickly met with loud protests by said "lady."

Her white hair was up in a carefully constructed up-do, in a royal blue dress and coat, the corset around her small frame making her proportions look very appealing. The woman took off her coat, handing it to the servants to hang up, before she went back to the carriage, and grabbed a small hand, whispering encouragements in the language of nations, making the power couple raise their eyebrows, watching in curiosity.

Out of the doors came a younger nation, who looked to be a girl of about 11 or 12 years of age physically. What Annalise noticed immediate was the girl, though young, was stunning and would attract all types of suitors when she was older, both human and nation alike, Austria was sure.

So that was Germany.

Prussia greeted her allies kindly as they came out, holding her parasol above her head, and Germany looking to them with obvious curiosity and excitement.

"When will the others be arriving?" The white haired woman asked, clearly on the verge of laughing, but trying to at least pretend to be proper for the sake of the humans present. "I haven't been to a proper nation-run ball in _ages. _Also, like, will there be humans?" The insinuation was that she preferred no-human balls. "Than again, it's your ball, and with _your_ boss, it's probably a little of both, am I correct?"

"You are correct, Prussia." Hungary said, nodding. "Welcome to our estate. It has been a while since we have been on good terms, as you recently went to war with our nation. Although, I see your efforts were not in vain." He turned his attention to the young girl beside Prussia, who at the sudden attention turned her gaze away quickly. Hungary walked forward. "Germany, you are our new ally, and we are honored by your presence." He leaned over, and kissed her hand lightly, making the girl flush.

"Yes, Germany." Austria continued. "Though I am not under your jurisdiction, I look forward to working with you in years to come, my German sister nation." Prussia snorted, and Germany looked embarrassed, scandalized by that statement.

"But…Big sister told me that you and her-" The girl was cut off by quick, embarrassed laughter from the aforementioned woman.

"Ah, yes! Germany, that is not exactly polite discussion! Especially not in the presence of mortals!" Prussia said in furiously quick nation-speak, making the humans look incredibly confused, as they had never tried to learn it themselves.

Germany nodded affirmatively. "Sorry, sister." She reverted to German for the human's sake. "My apologies, Madame Austria."

"My dear, no need to refer to me as that." The woman waved a hand. "Austria will do fine." Prussia glared, and Austria raised a single eyebrow in challenge, but the albino backed down. The two were allies, yes, but they had their own quarrels with one another. Specifically, the one that had broken them apart was the issue here.

Back at the Congress of Vienna, shortly after the defeat of France in the Napoleonic wars. Where Austria set herself on top of Prussia, once and for all, which made her then-lover incredibly unhappy. She also banned the unity of a Germanic state, wishing for there to be a balance of power. And there was, until the time Prussia started to build one anyway, and Austria called off their relationship in accordance.

Prussia was like Giselle, thinking they could be together after all that had happened, however, they were different as could be, and there were two issues that came up to mind when Austria thought hard on the issue. For one, Austria was married, and for two, they were both women, or at least, looked like women.

They could never be together, and so Prussia had been driven away from her further than Austria could reach out to.

At least, Austria thought to herself, the woman hadn't been driven into madness like Giselle had, in her namesake ballet.

Annalise remembered when she had first discovered that Prussia was a woman, and remembered it well.

_When Austria had first met the woman she would one day be a lover with, the woman was a boy. _

_Teutonic Knights looked at her with clear disgust on his face. "What am I doing here?" He muttered, and it had made Austria narrow her own eyes. _

"_Ugh, you're…" Austria had muttered, before her boss had given her a stern look. When her boss looked away, she clearly made a threat to punch the idiot, making him jump back suddenly. _

_The two would get off to a rocky start, most certainly. _

_Teutonic Knights would make rude jokes about how he used a drawing of her for target practice, and when he saw her, he would use a slingshot and fire rotten fruit at her. _

_In turn, Austria learned to have one hell of a backbone. When Teutonic Knights would make fun of her, she learned to bite back. She was hardly a proper woman, but as she would one day discover, neither was the woman Teutonic Knights would grow to be. _

_They had just been teenagers when it had become clear to them all, Annalise included._

_Daniel looked at her oddly as she came upon him at a conference of nations. He gave her a sideways look. "Julch?" He had tilted his head in confusion, and Prussia had pursed her lips, biting one of them, before she spoke. _

_Her voice had been high and lilted then, not yet aged by time and moderated by experience. "Yes?" Prussia had blushed horribly. The outfit was originally hid her womanly figure somewhat, but as she put a hand on her hip while she jutted it out, it revealed her narrow waistline and wider hips. Her slightly hourglass shape gave her away for good._

"_Y-You're..." He seemed unable to come up with the word for it._

_"Ja?!" She said in a higher pitch, now embarrassed and she had shown it clearly. Annalise's eyes had widened as she drunk in her appearance again, suddenly comprehending that things were not as they appeared on the surface. _

_"A woman." He finished his observation, confused. "You never told me. I always assumed you were a man. Your hair's so short." Something seemed to come to him. "You were even a knight!" He exclaimed after the pause. _

_"And why's that strange?" She had glared at him, challenging him, her hands on her hips while she leaned forward, to get in his face. "It's a man's world. I want to be a part of that. And that means abandoning the fairer sex." _

_Austria had been dressed in finery. She had gaped at Julchen's fair features, since as she grew into them; it was hard to deny the facts. She was too womanly. Too fair to be a man by their standards- and now that she had seen it, Annalise noted that the woman was stunning by their medieval standards. _

_The other nations of Europe had been completely blindsided by this revelation. France was aghast at what she had done to her hair. Spain frowned at her wearing trousers. Russia disapproved of her commanding tone. _

_Like always, she had been the outsider. She had been too womanly to fit in to a mans world, too manly to fit in with her own kind, dominated by women. _

_Julchen had left in a hurry, tears in her eyes, despite Annalise calling her softly, trying to reach out to her. It wouldn't be long before the persona faded to the back of her mind, as she wasn't really a nation, unlike others present._

XXXXX

The ball had begun, and Prussia was fanning herself at one of the sides of the room, in her cream colored dress, though it was easily mistaken for a white dress. Germany was also in white, though it was far more simple a gown. The two were together, Prussia speaking in quiet German with the girl, instructing her how to fan herself properly, and the girl nodded, reminding her older sister that their boss had ordered her several teachers, who had taught her how to present herself at a ball.

"Well, then fan yourself correctly." She said, smiling lightly. "Because you're currently professing your love to me."

The girl went flush as she slowed down her fanning pace, and Prussia nodded affirmatively. "Good. Now, go let the boys see to you, sweetie- or the girls for that matter. Though we look like women, we are genderless, timeless beings." She said appraisingly, before her eyes caught the on looking Annalise's own, letting her know she had known she was there this whole time. "Your sister has some…_business_ to take care of." And as she said that, looking directly at Annalise, she closed her fan harshly, before drawing it across her hand, making the Austrian nation sigh at her immaturity.

Germany, in her sweet little white gown, blushed as she saw the two conversing, before she walked off, men trailing behind her curiously, obviously having great interest in the young nation, and thinking her to be a young of-age woman.

Annalise responded in kind. She closed her own, before touching her finger with the tip lightly. _I wish to speak with you. _

The Prussian nation sighed loudly, before resting it on her lips. _I don't trust you._

Her eyebrow twitched, before she opened her fan, and clasped her hands underneath it. _Forgive me, I pray you._

An eyebrow went up, and Prussia smiled, her eyes darting to something out of Austria's sight, and then the albino twirled her fan in her left hand. _We are being watched._

Austria turned around slightly, noticing her husband keeping an eye on her. Damn that man. She lifted her fan slightly, before closing it shut quickly, and turning her back on him, huffing. _Don't be so imprudent._ Prussia put the fan in front of her face, holding it in her right hand, before she walked away. Much like the woman had silently asked, she was following her to a more discrete location.

Once they had arrived to a room, Prussia closed the door behind her, sighing. "Goodness, these occasions bore me." She sneezed lightly. "Oh well though, I did choose to accept your invitation of my own volition."

"And why, pray tell, did you do that?" Austria snapped, making Prussia smile slowly, seductively.

"Goodness, what a loaded question." The albino felt down her silk dress, her very thin form given some layering with the help of the large skirt. "You know, a few years back I went to go see an opera." She said, red eyes traveling back up to purple ones, and Austria snorted, rolling her eyes in an attempt to not look into Prussia's questions.

"You? An opera?" Annalise said, in disbelief. "Which one."

Prussia pointed her fan at Austria accusingly. "Oh, goodness me, someone's a loser. What do you mean, me? I love many operas, and many of the new ballet that are out, as well. I rather love what Russia's done with it. Tchaikovsky? I like his work quite a bit."

"So you're actually literate." Austria said, huffing, and a white eyebrow twitched again.

"Ah, yes." She smiled, being purposefully irksome for her own pleasure. "The opera I went to see was, ah, Carmen." She said, smiling.

Austria rubbed her temples slightly. "Oh, I can certainly see why you liked that one. What did she say? In her Aria? _L'amour est un oiseau rebelle, Que nul ne peut apprivoiser, _is that what it was?"

"_Et c'est bien in vain qu'on l'appelle, S'il lui convient de refuser."_ Prussia finished, nodding with a coy smile.

"Well, it fits you well. You've never wanted to conform. Which is why I'm so surprised Germany is so well…well behaved." That made Prussia snap up to look at her, her reddish blue eyes glaring.

Her eyebrow cocked up slightly. "And what is that supposed to mean, _darling_?"

"It _means_, precisely what I _meant_. You're hardly the picture of a woman." Purple eyes met angry red ones from Prussia, before the white haired woman averted her gaze, standing up straight suddenly.

"I must be off." She said, and put her fan above her head, blocking the light. _You're ugly._ How mature, Annalise thought to herself. And then her past lover was gone, much like the heroine in the opera she had mentioned. Her love was fickle, like the bird foretold in the aria _Habanera. _

She sighed, wondering what she was to do about her broken love between her fellow Germanic nation.

However, instead of fretting over that, Annalise went out to join the ball once again, carrying herself with pride.

It wasn't like this was the first time Prussia had been offended so badly by what Annalise said.

_The Congress of Vienna was coming to a close now, and times were changing. Prussia wasn't particularly happy with her lack of gains from the war. _

"_Do you know that I have loved you for a very long time?" Prussia had asked. "I'm not good at displaying it, I know…but I wanted your attention, even if it was bad attention."_

"_Hmm." Annalise mumbled, reading a book. "To be perfectly honest, I thought you were little more than a pest until recently- just another upstart in Europe, trying to make a name for themselves. Once you had a nation, you and I were immediately entwined in war, and so I saw you as a threat. I still do, sometimes. You are another Germanic nation, that could easily hurt my empire."_

"_W-What was that?" Prussia asked, something choked in her voice. "What does that mean?"_

"_Well, I admit, before this, I didn't spare you much attention." She murmured, still not really paying attention to her lover, to know that she had tensed up and was now getting to her feet. "You weren't really an important nation, unless you were at war with me. Though I suppose that has changed very little. Your governance didn't even show up, he simply mailed my diplomat."_

"_N-Not important?" Julchen had balked. _

"_Well, not really." Austria sighed. "You weren't even a solid nation for a few hundred years. Even though we knew each other as kids, I knew many nations as children that faded away. I thought you would as well."_

_Julia had gone silent, and that was when Austria had looked up to her again, only to see that her eyes were fiery in anger, and her expression had crumpled into a mix of rage and sadness. But she couldn't take back what she had said, though her eyes widened and her mouth opened to apologize. _

_"I…I'm sorry." She had said, unsure, but most certainly upset. "I'm sorry that you think that way. I'm way too good for you, anyway." She fisted her hands, and stormed out, despite Austria's calls for her to return. _

_There was no going back._

XXXXX

During the ball, many nations danced, and they all danced well. They didn't come that close to one another, as they would be spending more together time than any of them actually desired over the next few days.

Austria somehow ended up near Prussia when she was asked if she was attending the ball to come out. A single eyebrow raised, and she closed her fan, coughing lightly before she spoke.

"Oh hon." She muttered. "I'm like, so wrong for you, I can't even begin on that… Go find some other young thing to talk to."

The man was outraged, and went to hit her, and Austria went to interject, but Prussia wasted no time in grabbing his hand, and punching him while he was surprised. She then knocked him over, away from her, and she rolled her eyes as he called her an old hag, and stalked away, his pride damaged.

She laughed lightly, and Austria got out of sight while France came up to scold her. "Ugh, such an ugly old woman. You must be desperately unhappy to make men feel so violent toward you."

Prussia scoffed. "Perhaps. Or perhaps I have half a brain and hate how humans insist they know the best way for us."

"Ah, but if you had a full brain, you'd realize the best way for a woman like you to live is to act like Coppélia." Prussia's eyebrow twitched.

"Like the doll?" She said, anger just below the surface.

"Precisely." France's smile widened. "Something that never speaks or thinks on its own. Well, you already have one part of that down." Prussia gritted her teeth, but simply lay down to let France have this victory against her, and the French woman laughed. "Perhaps you'll even be loved as Coppélia was, though it was the woman who replaced her that was loved in the end!"

Prussia fisted her hands, but didn't answer.

France walked away, but not without one final biting comment. "I have the feeling that your choice to make Germany a country will be your death wish." She scorned her, and left the albino to go and sit down at a table. Austria followed.

As the albino woman sat quietly, drinking her wine slowly, Austria sat across from her, making the other raise an eyebrow.

"Ah. You followed me." She said, quiet, before shaking her head quickly, trying to snap herself out of it.

"You're not Coppélia." Austria blurted out, before she blushed.

"Ohh?" She smiled, slowly, something odd appearing in her expression.

"Nor are you Carmen." The brunette continued, licking her lips slowly. "You're not really either of them."

Prussia nodded, slowly. "So? Who am I?" She asked, gentle. The, _to you_ was there but was not actually spoken.

Austria hummed. "Perhaps you are not them, but rather...Gretchen." This made the albino frown.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Prussia frowned, her mouth turning to the side.

"From Goethe's _Faust._" Austria explained. "The girl he desires. Who is pious, and beautiful, and largely incorruptible, until Faust exposes her to the evils of the world through the devil figure of the story."

"Ah." She mumbled, nodding. "Right, I remember her. She didn't have much of a character though, outside being pure and still being able to go to heaven despite her sins. You think I'm her?" Prussia raised an eyebrow at her, red eyes clearly unimpressed with her statement.

The brunette quickly saw her error, but there was no taking it back.

"I suppose that makes you my Master Faust then." She grinned, and started chuckling. "Making deals with the devil? Sounds about right!"

Austria frowned, and huffed. "I am not making a deal with the devil, idiot."

"Maybe you have, just now." She laughed. "Dance with me." But the woman didn't wait for Austria to respond, before pulling her up and onto the dancing area.

She pulled Austria into a shaky hold and tried to get her to dance with her, not actually that terrible of a dancer, before Annalise ripped her hands from Prussia's grip. "Daft fool." Austria spat, embarrassed and petrified of what people would say. "You thought we could do such a thing, _here_, of all places?"

"Of course." Prussia murmured, not meeting her angry eyes. "This is your home, after all."

Before Austria could come up with a proper response to that, Prussia turned around. "I don't think I'm Gretchen either. Perhaps I am Eurydice, with my beloved coming to save me, only to lose me at the last moment." Austria wondered what was up with her tonight… she seemed so…sentimental.

Prussia snuck behind Austria, and spoke in a soft voice, only for her ears. "Perhaps I'll disappear the moment you turn around."

And so, of course, Austria whipped around, only to see that Prussia had snuck back in to blend with the crowd.

She did remember the times as well, though she felt they were long gone…

_Though Prussia had attended balls before this, as custom with the 18__th__ Century, this was the beginning of a new age. _

_Austria had been waiting below, with her many territories already present, the Austrian Empire wide and expansive. However, many were unhappy with the current talks of the Congress, Prussia herself had been included in that idea that this wasn't an agreement could hold._

_And she had been right in the end; Austria would see many entities in her empire leave her, and not only that, she would lose the recent love she had brought into her life, as Prussia rarely came to the informal meetings of the Congress, and as soon as Austria made her decision to stick with the status quo and not establish new nations, would be driven away for good. Or, Austria had thought it had meant forever. _

_But that was not the moment she was reminiscing of. This moment was the last real time the two of them had…really been in love with each other. _

_It was a ball, one meant for nations only. France was not allowed to attend. _

_Prussia had not been in a dress, not at all, in fact. She had been wearing men's clothing. It made Annalise giggle slightly as she bowed and kissed hands of the other nations present, which had varied reactions from those she did it too._

"It's rare I get to wear men's clothing these days!" She laughed. "But I love it, it's so much more simple than wearing a ball gown.

"_Ah, yes," Austria rolled her eyes slightly. "Were you not just in a ball gown for the previous ball you attended? A beautiful blue gown, if I remembered."_

"_Yes." She snickered. "But, this one has no humans, so I have no need for formality." She had reached out her hand for Austria. "Dance with me."_

_When Austria didn't respond, Prussia had grabbed her hand, and pulled her into a waltz hold, being the man for them, and the two immediately started doing the simple 1-2-3, 4-5-6 of the waltz, occasionally adding variation. _

"_You're not that bad." Annalise conceded. _

"_Ehhh? What's that supposed to mean?" She laughed, twirling them around the floor, many nations who were friends of Prussia cheering her on by the sidelines. _

"_It means, that I haven't really seen you dance before." Austria murmured. "You're a beautiful woman, I wish I could see you in a dress more often. Just because you're tomboyish, it doesn't mean you can't ever wear a nice dress. _

That was right…she had told her that…

And Julchen was beautiful, the problem was, they really couldn't do this…

XXXXX

As the ball drew to a close, most humans started to leave, and the nations remained. Many of them hadn't been seen all night by the others, and so light conversation started up. Mostly, they were waiting for the drinks to be brought in, as well as their changes of clothes, as their affairs were not typically done in ball garb.

However, Prussia was stuck with this man courting her rather insistently. The man loudly proclaimed that she was far too independent, and "needed" a man in her life, namely, him in her life.

"It's because we have too many women in politics!" He said, making all the nations in the room turn heads. Russia nearly dropped her newly handed glass of champagne. "Women these days needed to be reminded that they should stay in the household! They love kids!"

"Oh?" Prussia said, pretending to be amazed by the incredibly stupid statement. "And pray tell, how does the amount of women in politics affect the everyday girl, such as myself?"

"Well, you see," He smirked, since he was glad she had taken interest. "Women like Elizabeth and Victoria from England," England turned her head around in a possessed like manner, her eyes wide and angry behind her glasses. "And Catherine from Russia." Russia's eyes narrowed, her glass shattering in her grip. "Isabella from Spain, Maria Theresa from Austria, Joan of Arc from France, They were all too independent!" Spain, Austria, and France just looked at one another with a clear expression of, _who the fuck does he think he is_, before all the "big" nations of Europe were gathering around this one stupid man who had most certainly overstepped his boundaries.

"Oh?" England smiled, her expression dripping with sickly sweetness. "And what's so terrible about being independent? Those…ah, those suffragettes tell us all the time we should be wanting to be more involved in politics."

"They're all old hags!" He snorted. "They are just upset because they're ugly and no man would love them!"

Russia nodded, coming over to him, murder hidden just below the surface. "Ah, I wondered why they sounded so unhappy with men..."

"Well, ladies." He said, looking around to the group of various European women with a large smile on his face. "You see, there's going to be a meeting in here soon, a rather large political meeting of sorts." He nodded, and Hungary came over. "Oh, there's one now. Welcome, sir, I assume you must be Austria." He said, respectfully.

Hungary raised an eyebrow. "I am afraid you are on the right track…But, I am Hungary." He turned to the man, before seeing the looks of evil in the offended women nations, and backed off. "I will be waiting for my fellow nations in the meeting room. Send them off when you are finished."

"Well, ladies, I am afraid that I have to ask you to leave, the nations are meeting tonight." He said, his demeanor filled with overconfidence. Austria looked to the others, who nodded and gave their consent for her to eat the man alive.

"Oh, we know." Austria smiled, before she frowned heavily at the man, anger in her eyes. "Because that was my husband you mistook for me."

The man went silent, his expression freezing in terror as it dawned on him who these multicultural women were. "A-A-A.."

"Ah, yes, I do suppose many people assume that my husband would be the dominant nation, however, you are correct. I am Austria." She slapped his hand off the albino. "And the woman you have been _groping_ all night is Lady _Prussia. _Who traditionally kills her human partners."

Prussia shrugged as the man paled, his eyes widening as he looked back to her. "What can I say, Austria? I have to keep those military secrets…secret." She smiled as her servant got there with her sword and uniform.

The man backed away from her, straight into Russia.

"And, ah, I do suppose you're wondering who else you managed to, ah, what's the term?" She hummed, making him suffer. "Piss off? I think that's the correct English term."

England nodded, smiling maliciously. "You are correct, Lady Russia. Though, a better term would be _fuck off._"

"Thank you for your kind aid, Lady England." Russia said, ignoring her own grudge against England to see this man suffer for insulting her past Queen.

The man looked around desperately to the two women behind him, who simply stared him down, linking arms. "Mon ami, perhaps your best answer is to simply get _lost._" France said, haughty.

"As you said, this is a meeting of nations, and not humans." Spain said, delighted at his horrified face. "And everyone but you in the room is a nation." The man looked around, at the women coming back into the room, and some men, but mostly women…the nations he had been so adamant to protect were, in fact, all _women_.

And said women delighted in his blunder.

XXXXX

Once he had left, their truce was over, and it was back to glaring each other down while they got into their less formal clothing.

Prussia was changed first, and she then assisted Germany, who was looking around awkwardly, talking in quiet German while the older woman reassured her that all was well.

However, all was not well, as France "accidentally" poured her drink onto England's fine red dress. "Ohh?" The English nation growled. "So you want to play this game, mm? Are you trying to…"She picked up a whole cucumber that had been resting on the table, as a decoration for the food, as well as a knife. "Get a_head?_" She cut off the top of the cucumber's top in a guillotine fashion, and France's eyes went wide in anger.

"Ohoho," She said, her angry smile widening as she picked up a ribbon, and took the knife, and tied it into a knot, before hanging the knife from it like it was a dead man. "Could it be you're _hanging_ onto some old anger, my dear?"

England grabbed the matches. "Only if it makes you _burn_ up inside_._" She lit one as she emphasized on burning.

Calls of "Ooooh shit." Went out in the room, and the glass France had just picked up cracked in her grip.

"My dear, that was simply _uncalled_ for." She said, looking to the things around her. "However, since you went _there…_" She picked up a tomato. "I won't feel so bad about doing _this._" She threw it straight at her, hitting the mark precisely in her chest, staining the red dress further.

A voice called out from the door, "Heya, sorry I'm late," as England and France bickered, England grabbing a fistful of the caviar left over, and as France had carefully maneuvered herself before ducking to avoid the shot.

England's fistful of fish eggs hit America dead in the face, making the whole crowd go silent, and Prussia snicker. "Oooooh, England's in trooooubleeee." She said in a delighted tone.

America wiped her face down, the smile that had been present replaced with a frown as her hand went down her face, and she flicked her hand to the side to rid it of the caviar.

"Oh, you bitch." She said, laughing lightly, but entirely pissed, England staring at her in shock and horror. "It's not just the tea going in the harbor tonight." She took off her white gloves, and ripped her fancy ruffled blue ball gown, which made France whimper, but it was so that she could walk easier, kicking her heels to the side, as she got closer to England, cracking her knuckles and laughing lightly, before she deadpanned. "It's on."

England raised up her hands in a quiet surrender, backing up while America creeped forward, death in her eyes, before she did some quick thinking, and yelled at Canada that her sister had called her a pushover. The younger girl turned around, looking at America, who was trying to get it out England was pitting them against one another, but she was stumbling over the words, before Canada threw her glass of champagne in her face, and the struggles to get her point across were done. America forced England in front of her the next time Canada started to attack, not letting her escape this unscathed, and then the three of them were all screaming at each other, and food flying, various nations getting involved in the process. It was like how shit rolls down hill.

Germany turned to Prussia quietly. "I wasn't trained for this." She said, her brow furrowed, and Prussia simply barked with laughter. "This is like, the best part though! Of the whole damn meeting!"

France heard her laugh, and narrowed her eyes at the albino and the young girl beside her. "You two idiots." She growled. "Didn't think about the consequences for the rest of Europe by introducing a new state, did you, Prussia?"

Prussia sneered, a single white eyebrow creeping up on her face as she snuck an arm behind her and grabbed some of the mashed potatoes on the table. "Well, I after all had a lot of other things to think about while I was kicking your ass!" She shouted, before firing the potatoes straight into France's fancy up do. "LIKE THE SISTER YOU KILLED."

"At least I didn't _pussyfoot _in the war with my allies all fighting!" France growled, before picking up the gravy bowl, and firing it at Prussia. However, Prussia did a graceful turn right out of its path, and it landed on Russia's breasts, the bowl falling to the ground and breaking, much like the tall woman's expression did as she looked down. The tall woman had been eagerly watching England, Canada, and America's three-way fight, and now stomped over to France, who was silently praying for forgiveness from the lord.

Prussia gladly snuck away, chuckling as the French nation was lifted off the ground entirely by the Russian, and looked around for Germany, before softening suddenly.

Austria, who had yet to get involved, looking to where she was staring.

Germany was sitting in a corner, and Prussia quickly went over to her, going to comfort her and get her out. Austria also saw a curious Italy Veneziano following Austria's gaze, her amber eyes widening as she saw whom Prussia was escorting from the room. The girl then sought out Austria, having yet to change, and looking beautiful in her dress, though something was sad in her eyes, as it was in her heart.

"Is that…Germany?" Italy asked her in a soft voice, hiding her face behind her fan.

"Yes." Austria admitted. "I received word she would be attending only a few days before. Not enough time to alert you or the others, beside my husband."

Italy nodded, looking wistful. "She looks like…_her_." Her voice was soft, and raw.

"I know she does." Austria agreed. "But, she's gone. Germany is a young soul, and our ally."

"Yes," Italy murmured, closing her eyes and turning away. "Our ally."

A young girl in black rested in the back of her mind, Austria knew. A young girl whose life was cut short in a cruel fashion, by none other than France, but whose death also lay in the hands of Prussia and herself. Had Austria helped the girl, Holy Rome, be stronger, she would still be there with them.

But she hadn't. And so, the girl was gone. Austria had seen her die, as had Prussia, and though Prussia made remarks about it now, Austria had seen her after the battle it had occurred. It haunted her now, still.

_The two Germanic powers were crying out for France to stop as the revolution-crazed woman carried out the deed under order of her boss, Napoleon. France had taken Prussia's sword, and the woman scoffed at Prussia, belittling her._

_"You're not even a real woman. You're nothing but a demon. There is no place for you in this world." Tears soaked a pale face as the girl named a demon curled up on the floor, battered and bloody, but still trying to stop this from happening._

_France had raised her sword. _

_Prussia had covered her body, in a feeble attempt to stop it, and had screamed when it happened. It had gone right through the heart._

_And she, Prussia had died, as Holy Rome did, in one foul blow._

_But one of them could not die, while the other had been destined to die that day._

_The French Empire twisted the sword as she removed it, before she had left her soaking in a pool of her own blood, with Prussia started coughing it up._

_Austria had looked at her in horror, before violet eyes turned to France, watching her murderously._

_France left them both there, leaving their territory victorious, and the world one nation fewer._ _Only England, headstrong and not actually part of Europe was left to fight her. _ _And fight her she would, Austria was sure._

_Austria had taken her hand delicately, shaking her head as the woman stood with determination, the hole in her chest gaping. The brunette supposed that hole represented everything she had lost in life._

_"Let's go." Prussia's voice was deadened. She let down her hair, and the wild white hair was unkempt._

_It had been raining, and they had been soaked in water, in blood. The albino had ripped her skirt open._

_"Prussia..." Austria said, sympathetically. "It's alright...I'm sure...Holy Rome will wake up..." She tried to comfort her lover, who started to tear up. _

_"Shut up." Prussia had torn her hand from her grip, with fire in her eyes. "Shut up! I never got the chance to even know her! And you played a part of that! The only sister who didn't despise me!" Her voice had cracked loudly, and she had fallen to her knees as she sobbed. "And she's not going to wake up. She would have already. She was too frail. Always too frail. Too small. Too young!" She had screamed this into the sky, though it was uncaring to her pain. "I never knew her! Never got to say hello, and now, will never be able to say goodbye." Her voice broke at the end of this statement._

_Austria had stared at her. She had gotten down on her knees, muddying her dress in the process. "I'm sorry, Julchen." She apologized, something she never did. "I'm sorry."_

_"She was my friend, and she killed Holy Rome!" Prussia had screamed into the uncaring night. "She was my friend!"_

_"And we'll make her pay." Austria swore, and then had forced Prussia stand up with her. "We'll make her pay. I promise." Austria nodded, tears in her own eyes. "We'll make her pay."_

Italy was calling her name lightly, and laughed slightly as Austria glared. "Did I interrupt something?" She said, teasingly, putting her dark thoughts behind her. "I'd like to meet her sometime." She said, as Prussia convinced Germany to get up and leave with her. "Not yet, I don't think."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck, Italy." Austria said, nodding. "I don't think I can wait that long for Prussia, though…while you and I made up, I have yet to really…reconcile with her." Italy nodded.

"I do believe love will prevail in the end, though." The younger nation said, and walked away, looking back to Germany, admiring her soft features, her pretty blonde hair and blue eyes.

"I hope so indeed." Austria agreed. She coughed, and raised her voice, ending the fight. "Listen! We will reconvene tomorrow, promptly at 9 o clock. I expect to see you all there, and to not wreck my estate in the meantime." She nodded, before swiftly turning around and heading to her room, with her husband coming close behind her.

XXXXX

That night, as Annalise was going to bed, she looked outside her window, to the garden of her estate. There was a beautiful lake, and she saw Prussia sitting in her nightgown on the lawn, watching the swans.

Austria huffed, grabbing her robe, putting it on, before heading outside to see her, and tell the woman to go to bed. It was late, after all.

Once she got out onto the lawn, she saw Prussia sitting there, her face sad, and contemplating.

"Why did you come here?" Austria asked, confused, sitting down beside her.

Prussia looked to the swans swimming on the surface of the moonlit lake, and then to Austria. "To be honest, I don't know anymore. Perhaps I came to see if you still had your plumage." Her eyes searched in Annalise's, before the Austrian nation turned her eyes away.

"What on earth are you…" Annalise looked to the swans, and it suddenly clicked in her mind what the woman was referring to. "Oh. My plumage." So Prussia was referring to being a Valkyrie, and her reason for attending the ball.

"Yes, I was hoping it was stolen from you." She said, sighing. "There was a time when you were so fierce, and so beautiful. I had hoped that…that hadn't been an illusion, and you didn't give up your feathers for…love, or something ridiculous like that."

Austria scowled, intensely staring her down. "If I gave up anything, it was by choice." She said, firmly. "Although, I figure a being Valkyrie fits you, Prussia. Though I can't imagine any man stealing your feathers to make you obey them."

"To be honest, I don't know if it's just the Valkyrie that I'm similar to." She smiled, getting up quietly. "I'm similar to the swan, yes?"

"If what you mean by that is that you're a mean creature with teeth on their tongue who enjoys biting people, then yes." Annalise said, shooting her down.

"Perhaps." Prussia looked to the lake once more. "I'm told a lot that my pale skin is beautiful. Perhaps I am the ugly duckling who grew to be a swan." She smiled, before it faded as Austria spoke.

"I think you're still the duckling." She scoffed, trying to make Prussia laugh. This was so uncharacteristic of her.

"Ah," The albino smiled once again, turning away. "Then maybe, I'm Odette. Who you made a vow of everlasting love for, and yet, turned to Odile in the end, having been fooled by the Black Swan."

"What?" Austria frowned.

"Perhaps I am doomed to die for your inability to tell who truly loves you." Prussia finished, walking back inside. "Perhaps I am singing my swan song, for you, as I die."

Austria got up to follow her, but she had vanished the moment she was inside the castle. There was no going after her.

Austria turned to the lake, with the moon glowing on the water, and the swans swimming on it as well. What could she do? Clearly something was up with her ex lover…

But was it her place to ask?

_The first time they had admitted their feelings to one another, it hadn't been under a moonlit night- it had been on a bloody battlefield. Austria had been blindsided by the woman's casual admittance. _

_The year had been 1813. They had been sleeping with each other under Napoleon's rule, yes, but now they were fighting against him side by side. _

"_I love you!" Prussia had yelled as she tossed Austria a knife, and the Austrian woman had caught it easily, slicing her dress as she tried to fight against the humans that had dared taken them on. Prussia had sliced a man's chest open in brutal efficiency, taking his rival and shooting over Austria's shoulder, into the man behind her. _

_"What makes you think __**now,**__ of all times, is a good time to say that!" Austria had spat at her, whipping around to knock a man over and stab him suddenly. _

_"I dunno!" Prussia had laughed. "Is there ever a good time, my dear!" She shot another man full of lead, before the two continued their discussion. _

"_I suppose." Austria admitted, before sighing. "Still, idiot. I suppose I also l-love you." _

"_Good! Because, battlefields make me __**so fucking horny!"**__ Austria gasped at her audacity, but then immediately had to jump back into fighting. _

XXXXX

Days passed, as did meetings, and Prussia and her struck up strictly political conversations, as did the others. There was no happiness, no room for kindness in this room full of sharks, whose only interests were themselves and their own.

It was the last night before she was supposed to leave, when Austria looked out her window to the moonless night, and saw white hair blowing slightly in the wind, her nightgown the only thing on, her feet bare and in the water, holding a bouquet of wildflowers.

Austria once again, went out to meet her, and called her name softly.

"I finally figured it out." She said, turning around, tears in her eyes. "I found out who you want me to be."

Austria looked incredibly confused and worried. "Prussia?" She took a step closer, and the woman went further into the lake, stepping back with Austria's own step forward.

"You wish me to be Ophelia." She nodded. "I know you and I have tossed around many names, but I feel like this one truly fits. A dead sibling, a dead father, a lover who ignores her cries, whose love drives them mad." Prussia sighed, looking up to the moon.

Austria looked to her, and sighed softly. "Prussia…"

"And you only call me that." The albino said, tears starting to roll down her face. "I know you know my name. I know because I told you it all those years before this happened, when you told me that you…that you loved me. How foolish of me, to think you still would."

"Oh…" Austria couldn't meet her gaze, and Prussia took a few steps further back into the water, sighing softly. "Oh, you daft fool." She snapped sharply, making Prussia look up in surprise. "You cannot die."

"Perhaps." Prussia agreed, closing her eyes.

"Besides, Prussia, Julia, Julchen." Annalise smiled. "There's no one I would rather you be, than you. I want you to know that for all of what happens to us as nations, I still love you for who _you_, Julchen, are. And there is no one like you in fiction. That's because you are _you_. Headstrong, passionate, loving, stubborn, hardworking…"

Prussia looked shocked. "But you've always told me I need to act more…well, not like that…"

"You need to know _when_ to act ladylike, but I don't think you need to change your personality. That's because…that was the woman I fell in love with. Not any of the characters you listed. That's because you're far more than a character in a play, or an opera. You're my lover, and my rival. Now, come out of that dirty lake. We're going to dance." Austria ordered at once, and held out her hand. "You were right, this is my house, and you are my guest."

It took Julchen a second, but soon she was out of the water, smiling just a bit, something pained behind it- likely her heart.

That moment, the moon came out from behind the clouds, and the tender lighting came from behind her beloved, making her appear as though she was glowing.

Perhaps this was just a dream, Austria thought to herself, as she pulled Julchen closer, and they twirled on the soft grass by the moonlit lake, their hand on each other and kissing each other softly, getting to know one another's taste, their mouths seeking out the other's flavor.

Prussia wasn't all that bad of a dancer, her hands gently squeezing Austria, taking the lead as she dipped her once-lover, and then raised her back up, and twirled her slowly around them.

Or, perhaps, it wasn't, and it was just a moment in time, one they would never have again, as it was gone in a flash, never to be had again.

Austria brought her lover upstairs to her private room, with a bed, and behind the canopy, where no one else could see, the two gently got to know one another again, Annalise relearning every scar on her partner's body from the ones on her face to the ones around her belly and lower down, getting to know the landscape of her figure once again, with Prussia gasping and writhing underneath her talented hands, and the brunette running her hands through the pure white hair, kissing her pale lips and telling her to sleep with her that night.

This moment would be gone, much like the moonlight of the lake, leaving no trace of its presence in the morning, when Austria snuck out as day broke and the sunlight stretched over the earth.

She didn't say anything to Julia as she left, knowing she had made her choice when she had left her there to wake by herself.

Perhaps it had all been a dream, a dream of love, of them reaching out for each other in the darkness and trying to connect. It wouldn't be long now before the world, as they had known it, went up in flames with the first Great War.

They had to maintain their lives as they were, for the moment, Austria reminded herself. Balance was the way forward- A balance of power, balance of love and union, balance of themselves and life.

But despite Austria's and Prussia's separate and careful planning, their way of life was bound to fall, and fall it would, accompanied by a bullet through a young father's brain, since he was a father as well as a statesmen.

Thankfully, despite her inability to love Julia fully, they would still fall hand in hand.

XXXXX

When Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, the first thing the world could say was a very matter of fact statement, which Prussia summarized rather succinctly in a word, taking a smoke in her late Victorian dress.

"Shit."

It had gone downhill from there. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, whose ally Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary, whose ally Prussia declared war on Russia and France, preemptively attacking through Belgium, making England declare war on them as well.

Now it was really a clusterfuck.

Annalise watched while Julchen, her ally, easily manipulated the higher ups to give Germany an assignment that would keep her off the front lines. She wouldn't let her sister fight. She was still too young. Barely 43 years old. Prussia had hundreds of human years under her belt- She could protect her sister's innocence; she wouldn't lose this one…not again. Not when the albino could die instead. And Austria knew this, and despite her misgivings, understood her reasoning for it.

The soldier girl personally trained her soldiers, the best and the brightest, to be knowledgeable in warfare. Annalise got down and dirty with her husband, prepared to fight for the sake of the empire.

But all the training in the world couldn't prepare them for what was to become the Western and Eastern Fronts of the Great War.

XXXXX

"Shit!" Prussia said, putting on her gas mask as what remained of her troops did the same. "What the fuck are we going to do?" Her white hair was wild and wet, bloodstained and bedraggled.

"Ma'am, we can't-" Lutz was talking to her, but she held up a hand.

"It's sir." She reminded, course with him.

"Right. Sir, we can't keep going! They're going to kill us all if we don't draw back!"

"We can't draw back!" Prussia yelled at him. "Or all _their_ deaths will mean nothing!" Julchen was ready to cry, looking down at her mannish hands. They were cut up to hell, and she looked up with determination. "No way these Triple Alliance Bitches are going to push us back!"

Austria heard something, and cried out to Prussia, who didn't hear her, and Austria could only watch when it happened.

That being that precise moment was when the shell hit Prussia's bedraggled group of soldiers, along with the albino nation herself.

Annalise could only scream as her husband held her back.

XXXXX

When the red-eyed woman slowly opened her eyes, she looked up to see Austria and Hungary's faces hovering above hers, and Annalise was positive she herself looked dreadful, and Prussia confirmed that in a second.

"Hello ugly." Julchen croaked, and the two both sighed in sync, the feeling in that beyond relief.

"You scared us! It's been three days since you were. Well, to put it simply, blown to bits." Annalise slapped her arm lightly, trying to pretend to be aggravated when really; she was just frightened by the prospect that Julchen might have not regenerated... "Gave us a real scare. But you're all there, right?"

"Ja, you're Daniel, representation of Hungary, and you're Annalise, representation of Austria. You losers are married, and your adopted kids are fu-" Hungary rolled his eyes, clearly becoming less worried as she chattered on about their faults.

Another slap quieted her, and she coughed. "Whaaat? Its totally true!" The bedridden woman grinned weakly, lifting her hand to her face, slightly, before letting it drop again. "I hurt everywhere." Julia murmured.

"Blown to bits." Daniel repeated his wife. "I'd imagine that regrowing everything is not a pleasant experience?" He gave her a rhetorical question, and she laughed lightly.

"What was left of me?" She grinned at him, trying to remain light even though Annalise could tell the other woman was shaken to her core.

"Your ugly face." Austria said, folding her arms against her chest, to give off an air of detachment when in all reality she had sat beside the woman's bedside for 3 days now.

"Ouch." Prussia closed her eyes. How's the front going?" She asked, trying to change the subject and opening her eyes again.

Austria and Hungary gave each other a sorrowful look.

"It's...over, Prussia." Austria admitted. "While you were out, America joined the war... on the Alliance side."

Blood drained out of her, and the albino froze in place. "Wh-What?" She whispered, and Annalise turned to her husband.

"We have to keep going though." Hungary admitted. "Even though we three understand that this is a lost cause, our bosses do not. They are committed until the bitter end."

Prussia shook her head. "My sister is...?" She turned to Austria, clearly needing to hear some good news.

"On the border of Italy." Austria said, trying to comfort her as best she could. "Far away from any front of importance. Even from the Isonzo front." And then Julchen breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Even if I'm not safe, I'm glad she is." Prussia curled up in bed, closing her eyes. "I think I'm going to rest. If you can get some food, I'd be really happy."

Austria left her husband there, and went to go fetch a servant.

However, Austria heard a shriek coming from the room soon enough, and she rushed back in. Julchen clutched at the air where her missing hair would be. She clawed at her own head, at her face, scratching herself with fingernails that acted like claws.

The albino had fallen out of bed, laughing and crying uncontrollably, her eyes open wide, in terror.

Austria shook her head slowly, knowing well what this was.

Prussia was forced back into bed, Hungary having rushed back in sometime when Annalise hadn't been paying attention. He held her hands down, and looked into eyes full of tears and madness. The woman cried into his chest.

Hungary stared at her for a long time.

All three of recognized the symptoms of that thing, which soldiers had for years before this war, and would continue to have.

They called it shell shock these days. As she rolled into the fetal position, breathing hard, Hungary pulled away, and Annalise spoke.

"I never thought I'd see this...but apparently she can break." She said, tears in her eyes.

"I always thought she was stronger than all of us...but apparently not. What will her sister say?" Hungary murmured.

Hungary held her hand while Austria watched sadly, not feeling justified to do that.

XXXXX

By the time the war was over, Prussia was a twitching mess. Either Austria or Hungary had been assigned to her, to make sure she didn't have an episode on the battlefield. The only thing that seemed to help was a tranquilizer, and that was given to her as sparsely as possible.

Her sister came to see her one-day before the end of the war, looking like a child once more. Germany had finally received the news her sister had been injured to the point of death, and permanently scarred once she had regenerated- in more ways than one.

Annalise tried to stop her at the entrance of the tent, but Germany forced her way past Austria, clearly needing to see the woman.

"Prussia!" She exclaimed in German, rushing to her bedside. "Big sister!"

Julchen twitched, shaking slightly as Germany grabbed her hand, fingers sweaty in the delicate hand of her sister. "I'm...I'm so sorry..." Prussia whimpered, looking to her sister. "I-I...c..." She choked on the word, her head lolling back as she struggled to breathe.

"Shhh..." Germany said, tears gathering in her eyes. "I knew it. I knew this mission was designed by you to keep me off the battlefield! I've never been hurt this badly in all my time in this war!"

Prussia had a piece of an airplane shot out of the sky sticking out of her chest. She was going to die- it was inevitable.

She choked and sputtered for a few more minutes, before the life drained out of her once again.

Germany had never seen death, until now, seeing the life leave her sister. And Annalise saw the innocence shatter inside the young woman.

Monika screamed, pulled away by Austria while Hungary removed the piece of the airplane from her torso. Julchen could hear her while she recollected herself, body stitching itself back together. She groaned in pain, and Monika's tears stopped.

"Please don't cry," Prussia said softly. "Germany... I hate to hear you cry..."

"Monika." Germany said, throat thick with grief and remorse. "My name is Monika. It has been and it will always be Monika for you."

"Thank you..." Julchen said, relieved.

Annalise gave her husband a look, and then Hungary came between them. "She really needs to rest, Germany." The man put a hand on the teenager's shoulder. "It's over. We just need to await a treaty."

The shots continued to fire until the armistice was signed. 11, 11, 11.

The German nations and the additional man awaited their fate with dread. Austria was positive England and France would not be so kind as America.

XXXXX

In the months following the official end of the war, all of Entente was terribly sick. Hungary and Austria's marriage was over. They were all bedridden. Prussia weakly tried to take care of all of them, despite Austria's protests that she needed rest most of all.

However, Prussia harshly reminded her of something one day: There was no treatment for what had happened to her mind, and she recognized that. But she couldn't just get over it.

Prussia wouldn't be catching a break any time soon, unfortunately.

Austria watched as her once lover defended them until her disappearance, and then after she was found in the ashes of the Holocaust, and to the Allies she spared her sister, before she was taken into the Gulag by Russia.

In that time, Austria had freed herself to be in her own country.

She was…a coward, for being unable to face her. And she would have to wait 30 or so years to see her once again.

XXXXX

Years after all had been said and it had all been done, years after the end of everything, and before the start of the new world order, Austria was left with her thoughts and her empty house and her empty soul. There was nothing to describe the feeling of being an empire, only to fall to pieces and be destroyed by those who less than a century before had been allies.

She made a call to Germany, asking how she was… and asking how _she _was.

The year was 1989 and the Berlin wall had fallen. She assumed that now, the day after, the idiotic woman once known to the world as Prussia had been found.

"A-Ah…" Germany murmured, clearly exhausted. "I haven't found her yet…She has to be around here somewhere, though…Russia called me and said that she had left despite her orders not to."

Austria nodded. "I will be there shortly." She stood, and sighed softly after she hung up.

Did she have a right to go and look for her? Austria had been free for many years now, just about 30. But that was more than she could say for Prussia, who went from under one power to under another, shifting and according to Hungary, having her broken mental state agitated by it, though he admitted she did better than others under her circumstances.

She went outside, but was shocked to see someone trudging toward her estate. Annalise knew who it was, even at a distance. She told her maid to call Germany and tell her that she had come to her.

Annalise immediately started walking forward, gaining speed with every step she took, starting to cry softly as she saw the woman before her stumble and fall, shakily forcing herself back up, and cursed herself for making the entrance to her estate so large.

Once she reached her, she pulled the woman immediately into a hug, and the woman shakily pulled her arms up around Austria, and buried her face in her shoulder, undoubtedly getting her dress horribly dirty, but this was one time that Austria really couldn't bring herself to care. "You dumb bitch." Austria said, voice hoarse. "It scared the shit out of all of us, what were you thinking, leaving Berlin?"

"I…I had to get out…" She mumbled. "Is…is the wall gone now…?"

"How long have you been walking?" She said, picking her up in one go and taking the skinny woman inside.

"Uhh…dunno…." Julchen admitted. "A while."

"You're an idiot." Austria scolded. "But… I will say, yes, the wall came down."

"Whaaat…? Aren't you supposed to be nice to sick girls?" Julchen smiled coyly, before she went quiet, leaning into Austria, and becoming slightly heavier as she went limp, obviously exhausted at this point.

Annalise took her inside, gently petting her hair as the girl rested in her bed. Germany was soon arriving, clearly distraught. "No wonder I couldn't find her." She panted. "She had taken it upon herself to leave, just days before the wall came crashing down."

"Yes." Annalise agreed. "She does have a knack for bad timing, wouldn't you say?" The woman was trying to joke with Monika, but the blonde just gave her a confused, and then reluctant nod.

"I would, in fact, go so far as to say my sister has an aptitude for bad timing." Germany said, sighing. "I mean, as far as I've known her, including my creation. Excellent timing, but then again, hindsight _is_ 20/20, so perhaps, we give her a break…?" The blonde ran her hand through her hair. "How is she?"

"I've never been able to gauge her stability all that well." Austria admitted. "Then again, have any of us? She does a terribly good job at keeping that a secret."

Monika gave a long-suffering sigh. Now that her sister was back, it would be a new era in world politics.

The end of the bipolar world was upon them.

XXXXX

As time passed, Julchen's nation-status as East Germany would fade, but the woman seemed fine with the knowledge, taking it upon herself to acquaint herself with the modern world again, eagerly absorbing pop culture, and working on her physique all over again, becoming buff, but the skinniness stuck around.

She especially liked watching modern day childrens movies, laughing at the Swan Princess with Annalise beside her. "God, this movie's too funny. It's like us! I remember your years as a preteen!" She snickered.

"Ah, yes, I remember yours as well." Austria muttered. "A crusade crazed bloodthirsty nation."

That shut her up, and Austria smirked.

When the new millennium came to pass, all of a sudden, Prussia sighed loudly, huffing. "I can't believe that I'm seeing my _second_ change of the thousand mark in the calendar! That's…an accomplishment!" She laughed.

Austria pulled away. "Is that an "I'm old" joke or are you actually…?" She asked, tentative, unsure if she really wanted to know the answer to that.

"You'll figure it out someday." Prussia mused. "Until then, I'm not going to say a motherfucking word!"

"Despite it all, your language really hasn't progressed that much since our greater days…"

"Oh, belt up!" Julchen laughed again. "This is the part where they kiss. A vow of everlasting love…" She sighed, leaning into Austria.

"You know, perhaps this children's tale does apply to us." Austria murmured. "Perhaps I didn't see what was in front of me for what it was until it was almost too late."

Prussia looked up at her, her scarred face and red and blue eyes looking to her curiously, unsure of what she was going to say.

"I most certainly make my vow of everlasting love." She murmured. "But unlike my previous engagement to Odile, my love is purely meant for you, Prussia." Austria watched while Prussia's eyes teared up, and she quietly muttered, _fuck it, that was romantic_, and pulled Annalise down into a wet and sloppy kiss.

Because, really, they had loved each other far longer than forever, in human ideals anyway, and now they had defeated their demons, and could love and live once again.

XXXXX

Historical notes;

Prussia became a nation in 1701 AD

Congress of Vienna was 1815 AD

Austria-Hungary came into existence 1867 AD

Germany was founded by Prussia in 1871 AD

A/N: If you have any questions I love this topic!

a/n 2.0 I SWORE I WOULD STOP WRITING ON THIS FIC ONCE IT GOT PAST 8000 WORDS BUT I DIDNT STOP OH WELL


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